Program Description

Concentration (23/24 sh minimum)

There are four concentrations (including two strands in Applied Behavior Analysis) in the Ph.D. program. The five options and respective coursework are shown below:

Applied Behavior Analysis

Young Children and Families

ABAS (School Aged and Adult Strand)

Literacy

Or

Program Planning and Evaluation

STEM Education

OR

Although the major is in Education, having a concentration allows the student to study in a specialized area within the context of the major. At least twenty-four/twenty-five hours must be taken in the concentration, but some students will take more than this.

Core (19/20 sh minimum = 13 sh prescribed - 6/7 sh guided electives)

The purpose of the core is to provide an interdisciplinary framework for the Ph.D. program. Prescribed core coursework is shown below:

Or

Guided electives may be selected from the list below in addition to courses in the core and research components in consultation with your advisor.

Research (21 sh minimum)

The research area includes basic preparation in research methodology and design, including both quantitative and qualitative research. Each student who completes the Ph.D. program should have knowledge of various research inquiries for use in answering educationally-related questions. In addition to possessing a well-developed expertise in at least one method of inquiry, each student should be familiar with other techniques. By the time Ph.D. students complete their doctoral work, they should understand that the choice of methodology, or methodologies, is guided by the nature of the question(s) posed, rather than the preferred methodological or analytical techniques of the researcher.

Before beginning their doctoral dissertation, Ph.D. students should become familiar with ethical standards associated with the conduct of educational research. Students must know how these ethical considerations apply to (a) any interventions used with human beings, (b) the collection and analysis of evidence, and (c) the dissemination of discoveries.

Research coursework is shown below:

Or

Dissertation Coursework (15 sh minimum)

*Courses limited to students admitted to the Doctoral Program

 

**The overriding goal of EDU 7920, Research Seminar in Education, is for students to develop their dissertation research proposals and present those proposals to their committees for approval. With the exception of dissertation credit, all of the courses in a student's program of study should be completed prior to enrolling in EDU 7920 (including removing any grade of "I"). On rare occasions, and with permission from their entire committee and the Director of the Ph.D. program, students may take EDU 7920 with one class in the core or concentration series having not been completed. However, there are no exceptions with regard to the research series: EDU 7300, Research Design, EDU 7320, Single Subject Design or EDU 7310, Research in Literacy, EDU 7330, Qualitative Inquiry in Education, EDU 7340, Ethnographic Inquiry in Education, EDU 7420, Quantitative Inquiry in Education I, and EDU 7430, Quantitative Inquiry in Education II, must have been successfully completed prior to enrolling in EDU 7920. Typically students will also take their comprehensive written exams during the second half of the semester in which they are enrolled in EDU 7920.